IBAAW

So, yesterday was pretty great, so I figured I should write about it!

In the morning, we did our physical activity, which was capture the... bocce ball? We each had 4 bocce balls to hide, and then the rest was like capture the flag. It was pretty fun, because our last ball was hidden in a chip bag, so it took the other team agggeees to find. And we were tied, so it was pretty intense. Unfortuently, the ball was kicked out of the chip bag, and too many people were around for me to properly replace it, so I put the chip bag on top. But it is so windy here, that it blew off, and I just stood there looking nervous. Then Gwobs realized I looked nervous, and started circling around me, and saw I was practically standing on it. So, I called for Jade and she put it under her shirt! Ha ha. So Sean ran over and picked her up, and Gwobs blocked me, while Sean carried Jade back over to their side, and they won!!! Arggg, but alright it was still fun!

Then we all split up for a bit, to get whatever we needed to done before lunch. We checked out the flea market again (it was there Friday, and we went and bought some stuff. Gwobs bought a 4ft8 yogi bear... but actually I had to buy it because he can't speak French.), but didn't find anything interesting, so Jade and I went to the dépanneur to get ice cream. Then we all ate lunch (greek salad wraps, yum), and Anny and I took the compost to the bin near city hall, and went back to the flea market AGAIN where Anny bought 6 pairs of socks for 10$ (NOT USED SOCKS, BY THE WAY!!! Ha ha) and then got me to haggle with an older lady for some earrings. She wanted 3$, but Anny only had 2 (I mean, we only make 3$ a day!!!), and they came with a broach that Anny didn't want, so the lady gave the earrings for 2, and kept the broach. Yup.... that's not entirely interesting, actually.

For the afternoon we planned a trip to Kamouraska, which is a lovely little touristy town about 20 minutes away. First we went to the bakery, but none of us knew what to get. Sean just randomly picked something (he can't understand French, so he didn't know what the signs said). It was a bread thing with pears and dark chocolate that he said was amazing.

Next we went to the SAVONNERIE!!!! (SOAP STORE!!!!!!!) and spent a good half hour buying soap. I seriously spent 16$ on SOAP! But it smells so pretty! And it's all hand-made there. And I know, some of you are probably thinking "LUSH" right about now, but oh no, it was so much better! Much cheaper! And much better quality!!!! And such a pretty shop, playing old classic songs, and WOW.

Next we went to the Poissonerie (fish store) and looked at all the fish, but nobody bought any, ha ha. Then we walked back down the road, past all of the gorgeous houses, one of which was built in 1802, and one that had been converted into a Desjardins bank! We went to a little café and a bunch of people got coffee and tarte au fromage, and I got a little plate with bread, and herb cream cheese, and smoked salmon and smoked shrimp. I've never had smoked shrimp before, but it was AWESOME.

Then, we went to see a dock off the St-Laurent, because when in Katimavik, you ALWAYS go to see the water, even if you've seen the water at a different point in the water, you go AGAIN. Ha ha, it's weird how much water we've seen in 6 months...

We were about to head back home, but the Fred remembered a friend nearby who raises Polish Shepards. You may not have heard of this breed, because in WWII they were used to carry notes and weapons to the Polish Resistance. As a result of this, the German Nazis tried to exterminate them. They did get most of them, but in the 1950s until the 1960s, a few scientists went into the mountains and found about 70 of the dogs, wild, but still alive. They used the best ones to bring back the race, and the lady we met was the only breeder in Canada. And there are only about 25 breeders worldwide. Anyway, these dogs are meant to protect, so they seem really fierce, and bark a lot until they get to know you. They are also used for herding sheep. They do this by staying in the middle of the herd, and blend in with the sheep, then if something attacks them, they can jump out of the pack as this fierce dog. They also have a cool defensive technique, that just comes naturally, nobody has taught it. The smaller females will run away from the herd, and the wolves will think they're sheep. But the dogs can run faster than the wolves, so they tire them out, and then the big males, which weigh about 150lbs, come at the wolves from the side, knock them over, so they roll over, and then have a perfect opportunity to go for the throat and kill the wolves!!! Isn't that cool?

We also saw some 3 month old puppies. They weren't all barking and fierce yet, so the wanted to cuddle the whole time. They liked to chew up my hands and the ends of my braids, ha ha. And the other dogs that were barking and fierce, we were told, aren't like that if you know them. They're just trained to protect, so they'll protect anything on their property. The price for one of these fab dogs? 1800$

Then we returned home, had a fab dinner of Homemade Chicken Soup. And sat around and laughed a lot for a while. Then a couple people went outside to beat up yogi bear for a bit. Then we borrowed Fred's laptop and watched "Dirty Dancing," which was pretty great! Then bed time, and I slept until 11am! Yayy! Ha ha.

I'm not sure what we're up to today, because nobody planned anything, so we'll probably end up climbing another mountain. And then back to work for everyone tomorrow, except for Nick and I since we're House Managers!

Labels: Journal, Katimavik, La Pocatière